Then he gave the credit to the big guys up front after the No. 1-seeded Eagles' 47-7 rout of visiting No. 8 Dublin in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section Division II football playoffs.

"Oh yeah, they definitely did it," Protheroe said of his offensive line. "They gave me the creases I needed, and I took advantage of it."

Indeed, he did.

After the Gaels, who celebrated the return of standout back Ondre Rudolph from an ankle injury, scored in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 20-7, Protheroe promptly scored on a 60-yard run on the Eagles' next possession to up the lead to 26-7.

Clayton Valley, which had 639 yards of total offense, plays the winner of Saturday's Concord at Casa Grande-Petaluma game in the semifinals.

Protheroe, who has about 2,521 yards rushing and 28 rushing touchdowns, agreed that his 60-yard run was a turning point in the game.

"Oh man, I was really nervous and then I saw that hole open up and I just ran through it, and I knew that we had this game," he said. "I didn't know that we were for sure going to win, but I knew we had it in the palm of our hand."

Protheroe went 80 yards for a score on his team's next offensive play, and early in the fourth quarter, he dashed for a 74-yard touchdown.

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Clayton Valley (10-1), which had a bye in the first round, started a little sluggishly against the inspired Gaels (6-6) as the Eagles shook off the rust. They led just 7-0 after the first quarter on Protheroe's first touchdown, a 12-yard run.

"I think the bottom line is when you come off a bye you have a combination of being very anxious, and with that anxiety, your timing is off," Clayton Valley coach Tim Murphy said. "Take nothing away from Dublin. They came ready to play."

Murphy gave high marks to his lead blocking back and top tackler Jesse Medrano, whose blocks often freed Protheroe for big runs. Murphy also pointed out his offensive linemen, Spencer Wraa, Max Connor, Logan Bangert, Justin Rogers, Brenden Crabbe and Dylan Jue.

Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park 21, Las Lomas 14: Jalon Luque rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns, including a backbreaking 66-yard score in the fourth quarter, to lead the second-seeded Cougars (11-0) to a win over the visiting Knights (5-7).

Las Lomas got a break late when Rancho Cotate fumbled the ball on four consecutive snaps in the fourth quarter, including one that led to a blocked punt. That led to Adam Wood's 1-yard touchdown run that cut the deficit to 21-14 with one minute, 31 seconds left.

However, the Knights were called for an illegal touch on the ensuing kickoff and the Cougars ran out the clock.

It was a miserable night for football, with rain falling constantly and steam rising from the field. The conditions led to 14 fumbles between the teams. Amazingly, only two were lost. However, it forced Rancho Cotate to keep the ball on the ground. Michael Courchaine threw only three passes for the Cougars, completing just one. But it was a big one, an 11-yard touchdown to Chris Taylor-Yamanoha late in the first half to break a scoreless tie.

Las Lomas responded by converting an onside kick to open the second half. A 12-play, 46-yard drive culminated in a 1-yard run by Wood to tie the score at 7-7.

By that time, however, the Knights defense had begun to tire and Luque took over. Rancho Cotate marched 84 yards on 10 plays -- all on the ground and seven by Luque -- to take the lead for good. Luque scored on a 7-yard run.

The Cougars defense forced a punt, and it took Luque just one play to break the game open. He took a handoff up the middle, spun through the line and broke into the open field for 66 yards.